Russian mission in Europe discussed at the Fund for Slavic Literature

The second meeting with Patrick Popple, the Secretary General of the Suworow Institute (Vienna) took place at the Fund for Slavic Literature and Culture (Moscow) on July 3, 2015. The title of Patrick Popple’s report was «Can Russia save Europe?» V.Kalinkin, a research fellow of the Center for Euro-Atlantic and Defence Studies, took part in the meeting.

Patrick Popple, Margarita Saidler

Suworow Institute is a non-governmental organization founded in 2014 in Vienna at the initiative of a young couple Patrick and Lucien Poppel, who wanted to counter with negative information in mass media against Russia. The goals of the organization are to assist social contacts between Russia and Austria and organize cultural events and Russian language courses. Along with national flags, the logotype of the Institute includes an eight-pointed cross symbolizing the essential role of Orthodoxy for European spiritual renewal.

The host of the meeting was Margarita Saidler, a political writer and a member of «Novorossia» social movement.

According to P.Poppel, modern Europe goes through a multidimensional crisis. First of all, the reasons are moral decline, loss of European identity, domination of individualism and material values in society. The absence of spiritual guidelines and a tendency to «live for oneself» lead to childlessness, which government tries to stop by mass migration. However, uncontrolled flow of people of different cultures not only fails to solve a demographical problem but also creates additional social risks forming a kind of «ghetto» in big cities.

One more aspect of a modern crisis is a decreasing welfare and, according to P.Poppel, a «hidden robbery» of the working class: salary goes down and is now lower than a pension level for older generation. Thus, Europe faces three challenges – a growing number of people losing their roots, a growing number of migrants rejecting local culture, and a decline in social and economic defense of population. As for foreign policy, it becomes more and more irrational, when traditional human values recede into the past.

Poppel regrets that these negative tendencies are not publicly discussed and even become a taboo. And those, who try to fight the tide, are being shown as extremists, populists, «putinists» and etc. in mass media.

Popple sees European decay as a result of its almost full subordination to USA in politics, economics and culture. Reorientation to Russia could be based on historical tradition: it was Russia that saved Europe not than once (from French Revolution, Napoleon, National Socialism). For all those, who want to live in peace and save traditional values, cooperation with Russia is an imperative, P.Popple concluded.

М. Saidler paid her attention at worsening international situation and asked Russian people to spiritually mobilize and pull all healthy energies of Europe together.

As a conclusion P.Popple admitted that Europeans should save themselves, and Russia might become a guiding light for them. Unfortunately, most EU citizens keep thinking of themselves and their future within transatlancisim framework. Alternative political forces are divided and unable to «consolidate under one roof»: as for mass migration or propaganda of anti-family values, left and right parties can’t find common ground here. Popple is hopeful that non-governmental organizations, such as Suworow Institute in Vienne, can help change the situation for better. At the same time he admitted that EU would hardly turn from the chosen path, and large business in this situation played as an instigator of opposition between Russia and the West.

As for Austria, according to Popple, moral climate there can be improved by Freedom Party of Austria and youth «Identitarian Movement». Patrick himself ran for European Parliament elections in 2014 on behalf of REKOS of E.Stadler.